Dietary fiber in fruits and vegetables (provided by customers)

It is a common sense that humans need food to maintain life and vitality. Human foods are divided into two categories: animal foods and plant foods. In the Chinese diet, plant foods occupy a large proportion, such as fruits, vegetables, rice, and corn. According to legend in Chinese history, Shennong tasted herbs and identified which "grass" were edible, which "grass" could cure diseases, and which "grass" could not be eaten. People in later generations divided these "grass" into vegetables and medicines. In fact, this difference is not absolute. Some "grass" are both food and medicine, so there is a saying that "medicine and food are homologous" since ancient times. Why can some plant-based drugs cure diseases? It turns out that in addition to nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals), these plants also contain a variety of other substances. A considerable part of them is dietary fiber. Although they are not nutrients, they are indispensable to the human body; others are They are phytochemicals that have an important protective effect on the human body. Scientists are studying these substances in depth and have achieved many results.

Dietary fiber

As far as dietary fiber is concerned, many people do not yet understand its importance in improving people's physical fitness. To make a simple comparison: if people do not have enough protein or other nutrients in their food, they will get sick within a certain period of time; but if there is no dietary fiber, they will feel unwell and even get sick within a few days. The most common is constipation. , Over time, some diseases will occur in the intestines.

Dietary fibers can be divided into two categories. One is insoluble in water, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. They are called insoluble fibers; the other is soluble in water, such as gum, viscose and some Hemicelluloses, they are called water-soluble fibers. Dietary fiber is mainly found in fruits and vegetables. It is also found in other plant foods such as cereals and beans, but fruits and vegetables contain the most complete and abundant types of dietary fiber.

The role of dietary fiber

　　 What is the role of dietary fiber? It is now clearly known that it has at least five functions, and these functions cannot be replaced by any other substance.

1. Dietary fiber can keep the intestines in a normal state of operation, that is to say, make the intestinal peristalsis normal, which can ensure the normal advancement of food in the intestine, and promote the normal absorption of nutrients in the food;

2. Dietary fiber can lubricate the intestines. This aspect is mainly borne by water-soluble dietary fiber. A fully lubricated intestine is undoubtedly beneficial to the smooth operation of food;

3. Dietary fiber can absorb a large amount of water and expand, and its volume increases several times. In this way, the food residue, namely feces, will increase several times or even more, which is easier to be pushed by our intestines, promote defecation, and prevent or improve constipation;

4. Dietary fiber increases the volume of food residues, which actually dilutes the food residues, which can also dilute the toxic substances that may exist in the food or intestines, and shorten the time for feces to pass through the intestines, which on the other hand accelerates the toxicity Discharge of substances;

5. The lignin in the dietary fiber exchanges with the chemical ions in the intestine, which can adsorb toxic substances, including carcinogens.

Dietary fiber is an essential food content for the human body. Experts estimate that a normal adult needs about 25 grams of dietary fiber a day to facilitate digestion and health care. With the continuous in-depth research on dietary fiber, some health effects of dietary fiber that were not recognized by people before have been discovered one after another. For example, dietary fiber can absorb too much cholesterol in the intestine or help the body excrete too much cholesterol. Obviously it is beneficial to prevent the damage of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases to people.

Dietary fiber can be obtained from fruits, vegetables and cereals, or it can be obtained by supplementing dietary fiber supplements refined from high-quality fruits and vegetables. For busy modern people, dietary fiber supplements undoubtedly provide great convenience for them to obtain the dietary fiber needed for health.